Do you speak Japanese ?

[KrazyKat]

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to insult anyone or belittle their Japanese ability. I know illiterate isn't the perfect word since these people can clearly read and write in their native language but I couldn't think of a more appropriate word to describe not being able to read or write (but speak) the language of the country someone is living in. I didn't mean to offend you or anyone else by using it.

While I haven't been to Japan yet I would probably agree with you that needing to write large numbers of Kanji by hand is probably not an important skill, I very rarely write things for other poeple to read by hand even in English.

Being able to write but not speak seems just as strange to me. Once you know the vocabulary and grammatical concept it shouldn't be that difficult to transfer it from speaking and writing or vice versa? Of course speaking is obviously a more important skill for everyday life than writing I'm not trying to deny that.

[changedonrequest]

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to insult anyone or belittle their Japanese ability. I know illiterate isn't the perfect word since these people can clearly read and write in their native language but I couldn't think of a more appropriate word to describe not being able to read or write (but speak) the language of the country someone is living in. I didn't mean to offend you or anyone else by using it.
While I haven't been to Japan yet I would probably agree with you that needing to write large numbers of Kanji by hand is probably not an important skill, I very rarely write things for other poeple to read by hand even in English.

I'm sorry I didn't mean to come across as if I was insulted. I know it may sound strange but circumstances put me in a position that I needed spoken abilites more than written, particularly at that time. I had/have a family to support and work needed communicative skills over reading or writing ones. If I had the time I would love to go to school, but...I'm being lazy here....

Being able to write but not speak seems just as strange to me. Once you know the vocabulary and grammatical concept it shouldn't be that difficult to transfer it from speaking and writing or vice versa? Of course speaking is obviously a more important skill for everyday life than writing I'm not trying to deny that

Actually what you described there is how the Japanese are with their English skills. Many can read and write English, in some cases better than a "native", but can hardly hold a conversation beyond "Hi my name is Hachiro" "How are you?" I'm fine thank you, Mr.Hachiro and you?" It is extremely difficult for the Japanese to transfer their reading and written abilities to spoken.

By the way, there are specially designed classes for people in that situation that focus heavily on reading and writing. It's similar to the ear training classes for people with perfect pitch.

Where....anywhere in Japan?